The Trump administration’s moves hit Harley-Davidson with a ‘triple whammy’ that made them decide to shift production outside the US

Those three factors were:

1. Steel and aluminum tariffs: Harley uses a significant amount of steel in the production of its motorcycles, so Trump’s 25% tariff on steel imports to the US will hurt the company’s bottom line. According to an analysis by Wedbush Securities, the steel tariff alone could push up the company’s costs by $30 million a year. By increasing the cost of manufacturing motorcycles in the US, Trump incentivized Harley to move more of the production offshore, where steel could be sourced at a lower cost.
2. Ending the steel tariff exemption for the European Union: The second hit came from the European Union’s tariff on US-made motorcycles, a policy that came in response to Trump’s decision to end the steel and aluminum tariff exemption for the EU. In the filing announcing the production shift, Harley said the EU motorcycle tariff would push up their costs by $30 million to $45 million a year. Given that Europe is the second-largest market for the company, finding a cost effective way to maintain access to the continent is important.
3. Pulling the US out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership: While the US is still Harley’s largest market, Asia and South America are also important components of the company’s long-term growth prospects. When Trump pulled the US out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, the president also killed Harley’s chances of being able to access key countries in those markets with little to no trade barriers. In fact, Harley-Davidson CEO Matt Levatich told Bloomberg in April that the company decided to go all-in on the new factory in Thailand because of the TPP withdrawal.

There are certainly other reasons that Harley-Davidson is starting to move more and more of its production away from the US — cheaper labor costs and the ease of transportation to international markets, for instance. But the company’s move has been aided by Trump’s policies.